


Down By the River

by Aurorazilla



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 14:11:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14214876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurorazilla/pseuds/Aurorazilla
Summary: Toni goes to Sweetwater River for nature photos. She finds something else entirely.





	Down By the River

**Author's Note:**

> a quickie that was requested on the 'ole tumble!

It’s a beautiful day, Toni muses. The sky is clear for the first time in weeks, and it’s definitely one of those rare peeks into the Spring that is just around the corner. Of course, in New York, tomorrow could be below fifty degrees, so she decides it’s the perfect opportunity to get out and take some candid nature shots before Winter comes back to bite Riverdale in the ass.

One of the benefits of Southside shutting down, is that Toni can now safely travel to the Northside without too much trouble. She hasn’t seen Sweetwater River since she was a little girl, but she remembers it being absolutely beautiful in the Summer. Even if the snow hasn’t entirely thawed, she’s sure it’ll still be breathtaking.

It’s early morning. They had off because of last night’s surprise snowstorm, not that Toni is complaining. Again, it’s nice out, and she’s been itching to take pictures. The air isn’t quite warm yet, hardly any of the snow has melted but the sun is definitely shining.

The quiet of the woods always calms her. It’s like stepping into another world, like the chaos of Riverdale is left behind her. She takes a few pictures of the trees, and a few more when she spots a lone doe in the distance. It’s beautiful. Peaceful.

She steps through the budding foliage, the sunshine greeting her when the river comes into view. She freezes when she hears a quiet sniffle.

Who else could possibly be out here?

She looks around, and her stomach drops when she sees a figure on the thinning ice. Red hair. She knows who it is without even seeing the face.

“Oh my God, Cheryl-” she nearly drops her camera before rushing to the edge of the river. The girl is crying, curled into a ball on the still frozen river. She can just make out Cheryl’s quiet voice as the ice groans under the warm sunlight.

_“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry JJ, I’m sorry I can’t do it anymore,”_

And Toni’s heart shatters in her chest. She’s always assumed Cheryl to be this stone-cold bitch, ready to throw insults to whomever whenever she saw fit. But, God, she never imagined Cheryl would try to-

Try to-

“Cheryl!” Toni shouts, hoping her voice carries enough. The ice is thawing. If Cheryl stays there, she’ll go under at any moment. Oh, God, Toni can’t believe how hard her heart is racing right now. “Cheryl!”

The girl’s head whips around, black mascara streaking down her cheeks. “Go away,” she hisses, though there’s hardly any venom behind her voice.

“Come back to the shore!” Toni yells. “You don’t have to do this!”

“What would you know, Cha-Cha?” Cheryl snaps. “Just leave me  _alone_!”

_Fuck it,_  Toni thinks to herself, stepping onto the ice without much consideration. She feels it give way slightly, but it’s sturdy enough that she isn’t too worried about falling in. So she takes another step.

“Please,” Toni pleads. “Cheryl, please don’t do this.”

Cheryl turns away, curling further into herself.

Toni clenches her jaw and takes careful strides towards the redhead, trying not to focus too hard on the distant sound of ice cracking further down the river.  _Just keep walking. Don’t look back. You have to get to her._

She isn’t sure what it is, but she knows with every cell in her body that losing Cheryl will tear her heart out somehow. It’s not like they’re  _friends._ Hell, they’re anything  _but_. But, God, she can’t imagine a world without Cheryl Blossom. No, she can - it’s just a bleak one she doesn’t want to think about.

“Cheryl,” Toni’s voice softens a bit. She’s a few feet away, the ice creaking dangerously under her feet. “Cheryl, please.”

Cheryl looks back at her again, and for the first time Toni feels something shift between them. Not the ice, but it feels just as dangerous. Like whatever happens in the next few minutes is going to change everything and she isn’t sure if she’s scared or intrigued.

“You don’t know me.” Cheryl whispers. “You don’t even  _like_ me.”

“I never said I didn’t like you.” Toni argues. “Please, come back to the shore with me.” She offers her hand out hesitantly. “We can talk through this. Please.”

Slowly, Cheryl reaches out. When their hands touch, Toni feels something buzz through her veins. Something warm, unfamiliar. She pulls Cheryl to her feet. The ice starts to crack. Toni moves her hand to the small of Cheryl’s back, pushing the girl ahead of her as they make their way to the edge of the water.

“Keep walking,” she urges gently. “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.” Toni is aware of every shaking breath Cheryl takes, every step that she dares, to her very fucking bones. Toni doesn’t care if she, herself, falls in. She just needs Cheryl to be safe.

When they finally step onto the shore, Toni releases her breath and grabs Cheryl’s hand again. The ice finally gives way, the rumbling water beneath it sweeping away the remnants.

As soon as her hand touches Cheryl’s again, the redhead turns and pulls Toni into a tight hug, her head falling onto the shorter girl’s shoulder as her body wracks with sobs. Toni, stunned, wraps her arms around Cheryl and holds her close.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Cheryl whimpers and Toni feels her heart clench in her chest.

“Cheryl, it’s okay. You’re okay. I’ve got you, you’re okay…” Toni murmurs, rubbing what she hopes are soothing circles against Cheryl’s back.

“Why? Why are you here? Why did you stop me?”

“Because I know how it feels.” Toni says quietly.

The redhead pulls back slightly, eyes meeting Toni’s and they’re swimming with so much fucking pain that Toni can’t breathe for a moment. “You do?”

Toni brings her left arm between them, pulling up her jacket sleeve and moving the bracelets forward to reveal a long, jagged scar along her wrist. “I do.”

Cheryl sobs again, falling into Toni once more, and all of Toni’s mind and body come to one coherent decision and that’s to hold her as close and tight as possible. Despite their height difference, Cheryl feels almost small in her arms. Fragile. She wants to hold her until the world ends and even then she never wants to let her go.

Toni has never felt such a strong urge in her life. It’s like every instinct in her body is screaming at her to protect the notorious HBIC. To shield her from the world that seems to be against her. To hold her until her tears dry out. To keep whatever drove her to this far, far away. And maybe it’s just because of the circumstance, but it’s still such a strong feeling that she can’t focus on anything else.

When Cheryl stops crying so hard, Toni pulls back and wipes the tears under her eyes with the pads of her thumbs.

“What happened?” She asks softly.

Cheryl’s eyes search hers for something. Maybe genuinity. Maybe sympathy. Whatever it is, Toni hopes she shows as much of it as she can. “My mother. She- she said I’m…” Her voice falls to a whisper. “Deviant. An- an emotional anorexic. God, I’m- a loveless-”

“You are  _not_ deviant. You’re not loveless.” Toni wipes another tear with her thumb. “You’re sensational, Cheryl. Your mother is  _wrong_.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“But I  _could_.” Toni offers gently. “If you just let me in.”

And whatever it is Cheryl had been searching for, she seems to have found. There’s a relieved glimmer in her eyes, and Toni feels her relax under her touch. And, well, what happens next is certainly unexpected but not unwelcome.

Cheryl’s lips are on hers.

_Oh_ , Toni thinks, eyes fluttering shut on instinct. Cheryl’s lips are soft, warm despite the cold she had been sitting in. Gentle.

Cheryl yanks herself away and Toni forces her eyes open in shock. “I’m so sorry. I- God, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

Toni uses her hands, still cupping Cheryl’s face, to pull her back in for another kiss. Cheryl goes rigid for a moment, before returning the kiss eagerly. Her hands are on Toni’s waist, pulling her closer as their lips move languidly together. When they part, they’re both breathless. Toni smiles softly at her, and Cheryl returns it.

There’s something new in their gazes now. Something tender and soft. Toni wants to bask in it, to feel it run through her veins everyday for the rest of forever. Wants to bask in  _Cheryl_ for the rest of forever.

“Let’s go to Pop’s,” she suggests quietly. “We can talk this over, okay?”

Cheryl nods mutely, and Toni picks her camera up from the rock she’d placed it upon. Her hand finds Cheryl’s, entwining their fingers together, and she feels with every fibre of her being that this - that  _Cheryl_ \- is the real reason she’d come to Sweetwater River that day. Be it fate or luck, something brought her here for a reason. 

And she’s going to do everything she can to make sure Cheryl stays safe.

**Author's Note:**

> @ pinkbunny-imagines


End file.
